This invention relates to a device installed on a vessel for skimming the surface of a body of water for collecting floating hydrocarbons by contacting the hydrocarbons with an absorbent pad material.
Numerous varieties of oil skimming vessels are known for skimming the surface of a body of water for collecting oil floating on the surface from oil spills, leaking oil wells, and the like. Vessels of this type generally operate on the principle that oil having a lower density than water will float on the water and can thereby be skimmed off. In a typical design, a weir or skimmer is mounted to collect only the surface portion of the water, which is then collected in a tank to give the oil a chance to float to the top where it is removed and the cleaned water discharged back into the body of water. Skimming vessels of this type typically work in conjunction with floating booms that are connected for directing or collecting the floating oil within the perimeter of the booms. Another common way of collecting and separating oil floating on a body of water is to use a boat having a rotating belt made out of synthetic fiber or other material specially selected for the oil to stick to and which allows the water to run through. The belt can be positioned and driven as an endless conveyor with one end protruding into the surface of the water and a squeegee arrangement located at the other end of the endless belt removes the oil collected on the belt, which is then dropped into a storage container. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,697, an inexpensive floating vessel operating on a skimming principle is shown that uses the engine propeller for drawing the surface oil/water mixture into a skimming system.
Many oil/water separators allow the oil/water mixture to settle in a tank either on the vessel or on shore allowing the oil to float to the top of the water where it is removed by pumping or gravity draining of the water layer. One prior oil/water separator adapted for land use can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,512 to McCarthy, et al., where the oil/water mixture is directed against an angled corrugated surface and then through corrugated baffle members. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,697, the oil/water separator utilizes two tanks connected by a passageway in which the oil/water mixture is fed into the first tank, passes through a pair of check valves into the passageway where a plurality of baffles are mounted in a predetermined arrangement. As an alternative to gravimetric means for separating the oil and water, absorbent materials are commonly used for cleaning oil spills. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,385, a sorbent material is shown comprised of a first exposed outer layer of hydrophobic, liquid-permeable, fibrous polymeric nonwoven web and an absorbent body, adjacent the outer layer, comprising oil absorbent, cellulose-based material. The absorbent article is placed on a layer of oil resting on the surface of a body of water for oil spill clean up. The absorbent article selectively absorbs oil over water because the outer hydrophobic layer repels water but attracts oil and transfers the oil to the oil absorbent body encased between the exposed outer layers.